Fit and Fabulous Friday....late

Fitness report: I told myself I'm going to make this public, so better late than never. Made it to the gym 3 out of the 5 days this week. A bit disappointing so I ran this morning and I'm going to try to run tomorrow too to make up for those missed days. I'm still at 20 minutes and about 1.5 miles each day, but I am running a bit faster. I would really love to be up to 2 miles daily by the end of next week. 1.75 might be a more realistic goal. Feeling good, though.

I loved how this quilt turned out, so from some scraps that I picked up at an estate sale I made these. I liked them when I made them, but then they sat on my shelf for a long time...I decided they were pretty boring. Last week I turned them into these and this quilt top. So monochromatic, but I think they are pretty striking. The background fabric is this subtle gray with white pindots. I called them storm windows when I first made them and this quilt has that kind of calm before the storm feeling. The windows are all different sizes and are placed randomly. This quilt is much larger than the first. I'm pretty pleased with it. I'm thinking I'll quilt it with black thread...could be pretty cool!






























































Speaking of storms...I have to share this with you. Victoria of The Silly Boo Dilly made this fabulous quilt inspired by her feelings during hurricane Katrina. The quilt is stunning, and her story is worth reading. She's an amazing artist. If you have a minute, check her out.

Just had to say...

I can hear myself saying it, "You could be President of the United States. You can be anything you want to be." Those innocent faces would look back at me and nod politely. In the back of my mind I wondered what they were thinking. Who is this crazy white woman to tell me that I can be the President? What country does she live in? Deep in my heart I wanted to believe that what I was telling them was true. After tonight, I can say those words with renewed conviction. I'm glad I'm here to see it happen.

Our country is changing and it is my hope that it will continue to change. We have much work to do. A couple of weeks ago I was in a small cafe in Lawrence (a nearby college town) having breakfast. Two professors were sitting at the next table having an animated conversation. It was impossible not to eavesdrop. They were lamenting having to teach "those students." The ones that come from "those" school districts. The gist of the conversation was that they don't belong here. They aren't "college material." They complained profusely that they don't have the time or the inclination to help them transition to the college environment. I seethed and fumed, but said nothing. I regret that I didn't challenge them. I contributed to the problem by not speaking out. This conversation isn't unique or rare and takes many forms in institutions of all levels across the country. Those kids can't because...

I am still learning to understand, embrace and value differences and recognize the filters I use to view the world. Those of us who have grown up with the privileges of the white middle class don't understand what it feels like for someone to look at the color of your skin, the school you attend, the neighborhood you live in, or the language you speak and expect less of you.

My career has been about balancing high expectations with support. That is my dream for this country.

Whirlygiggling Again

This combination of fabrics makes me smile (Michael Miller, Amy Butler, Denyse Schmidt and a couple of others)...the whirlygiggle is one of my favorite patterns...maybe it should have a border? maybe not?

High Flying Weekend

When five F 16s swoop directly over your house it makes your teeth chatter a bit, the windows rattle and for a moment you can't hear yourself think. That's our house on air show weekend in Kansas City. The park across the street becomes a neighborhood carnival, the streets are packed with cars and occasionally folks spread blankets on our front yard to join in the fun. The more the merrier! We had friends over both days and plopped the grill and the furniture from the back deck on the front yard and had a ball. (The pic was taken last year by my son. I forgot to take one picture.)
















I didn't get much sewing done, but got a start on new pillows for the family room. These pillows say "happy" to me.









































I received my bookmarks and book from my partner in Amy's Bookmark Swap. You all can be jealous cause I had a great partner. I received these three lovely bookmarks on Saturday along with the cutest Winnie the Pooh Teatime Recipe book. There are really great recipes in there! Thanks so much Rachel! If you have a minute, check out her blog...she's amazing!
















I also received this little quilt from the fabulous Betty Ninja. It's so darling. I think it might hang right in my studio. Thanks Betty! A couple of other belated thank you's too. I received the Brilliant Blog Award from Kris at Quilted Simple, Doris at Threads of Conversation and Melissa at Sweet Sewing Sew Sweetly. Thanks ladies. Right back at you! Lastly, Carissa at Happy Stuff I owe you one. I won a Lara Bar on her blog and this big box came in the mail. In the bottom of that box was a jar of her fabulous rhubarb sauce. I made some drooly comments on her blog about her rhubarb, I'm ashamed to say probably more than once. She felt my pain and sent me a jar of her sauce. Pictures? No, sorry. I guess I could take one of the empty jar. I can unabashedly say I licked the jar clean. Simply fabulous.

Fit and Fabulous Friday

The week is over and I'm thrilled to report that I made it to the gym every day this week. Yippee! Quite a difference from the week before when I made it 0 days. As some of you know I joined Wendy (The Running Quilter) and a bunch of others to be Crafty, Creative and Fit. I committed to running this week. Let's make it clear from the outset, I am not a runner, but I pushed myself to run every day. Ran at least 20 minutes daily...I know that may not be lots for all you runners out there, but I'm pretty darn proud. I did my regular elliptical and bike too along with 50 crunches every day. That running is kicking my butt, but as Tine reminded me in her comment yesterday, running is supposed to kick your butt.
Got new shoes too. Wendy is right...dressing the part is motivating. Next week: put more miles on the new shoes! Tonight: Take a Tylenol PM and hit the sack!

Steely

Been working on this Steely log cabin between the quilting of this quilt and the rest of real life around here. Denyse Schmidt inspired for sure. Tried to add my own little twists. I think I'm liking it. Wish I could make it bigger...ran out of fabric. Is anyone surprised? Started it on a whim...no plan. Will I ever change? Hope I have just enough red for the binding.

Note to self: Do a Fit Friday post. This running thing is really kicking my butt.

I Wonder

Do we wonder enough? One of the questions I loved to ask my kids in class was "What do you wonder about?" Sometimes out of the blue, sometimes based on what we were studying or reading. At first kids would look at me with that stare that said, what does she really want from me, but over time they would begin to wonder and share what was on and in their minds. Wondering is a wonderful thing and an incredible tool for learning.
I digress....When I find or buy or see something handmade I wonder about it. Who made it, why, and how did it get here? Every piece has a story. If there isn't a label I imagine the maker. Isn't that part of the beauty of the hand made, the maker. A label is a clue. It won't reveal the whole story, but it may encourage someone to wonder.
The labels started with ink jet fabric sheets. Thanks to Penny at Sewtakeahike who motivated me to dust them off and give them a try. She has a great tutorial on how she makes her hang tags. I think this is what Nicolette uses too. I included the name of the quilt, the maker, the date, and if they were made for a specific person or occasion I added that. Six labels from one sheet. The only hitch is that you have to have 6 quilts done to get them all on one sheet. Definitely a flaw in my plan.

















Then I made little log cabin blocks using fabric from the quilt or that coordinated with the back of the quilt. They're so me...I love log cabins. Here's what I have finished. They're about 4.5 x 5 inches. A bit bigger than I wanted, but it was hard to get much smaller and be able to miter the corners neatly. Time for some relaxing hand work during the Olympics.

















I'm working on quilting Hannah's graduation quilt. It's been tough, so to relax myself I made a few of these blocks last night. I've been wanting to do another quilt like this one. A bit of a departure...not much color here. I do love the simplicity of the steely gray. There will be a little surprise punch of color...more on this later.





















For those of you who asked...he didn't finish the math...felt really bad...led to a rewarding "sit on the bed" conversation...a lesson in responsibility, independence, procrastination....lesson learned...I wonder?

Long Overdue

Labels on quilts are so important. For me it's like making my own bit of history. Then why don't I do it? Here are all the quilts that need labels. It's a bit embarrassing. Some have even been returned to me or taken off beds to get their label. This week is label making week. I'm trying to come up with something that will be me, that will fit the quilt, and have enough info to make it meaningful, but not overwhelming. Do you label?

The Last Goodbye

His and my last first day of school. My last call down the stairs to use my most enthusiastic "first day of school" cheerleader voice. Characterized by bleary-eyed grumpiness, an unfinished summer math assignment, and a firm if not a bit testy "I've got it under control. It's not due till 8th hour." Why hurry, I thought. A quick, "Let's go." Why so early? It was 30 minutes before we usually leave. "It's the first day of school," he told me. We rode the 5 minutes to school in silence. He's not a morning person. He exited the car and I reminded him that the math had better be done. He gave me that look and then my high school senior son said, "You'll be here to pick me up, right?" I've been there for the last 12 years of first days of school. I said, "I'll be here."

A Mr. Roger's Feeling

Mr. Roger's Neighborhood has been described as having a "quiet simplicity and gentleness." My boys loved spending some time in their day with Mr. Rogers. This quilt gives me that "Mr. Roger's feeling". I love the baby fabric. I love that I found it at the Salvation Army thrift store. I love the aqua binding. I love that it's finished. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Tulip Ribbons...Repurposed Beauty...Vintage Sheets

Maybe someone having a little girl would like this one. Made from vintage sheets and the binding is vintage as well, tiny green dots on white. The back is two pink tones of Kona cotton. The quilting was intended to look like ribbons cascading down the quilt. The four patch is very simple, but the quilting gives this quilt an amazing texture. I love it. It's a wonderful feeling to take something someone else could find no use for and make something beautiful.

I had 3 quilts basted and ready to go this weekend. Finished one, started and stopped quilting on the peek-a-boo baby quilt 3 times. I tried free motion, but ended up ripping and ripping. I couldn't find the groove. Now I'm taking out all the basting and starting over. I hope I didn't ruin it. It's so stretched and out of shape with all the quilting/ripping cycles. Back to the drawing board on that one.

I haven't read a blog for days...my google reader is overflowing. I try to blog without obligation, and for the most part I do. I do, however, enjoy reading your blogs and so I get a bit stressed when the time just isn't there. Do you worry about those kind of things? Gotta run! Have a fab week!

Crafty, Creative and Fit

I joined Wendy and a group of folks at The Running Quilter and am renewing my commitment to be crafty (not a problem), creative (doing my best) and fit (it's harder as I get older.) I hit the big 5 0 last year. I'm not much for freaking out about age, but as "old" creeps up, at least for me, health and fitness need to move up on the priority list. It doesn't come naturally any more...I need to be more overt about it. I joined the local YWCA last summer and I've been doing pretty well. I feel so much better on the days that I exercise. For me it's about being and staying active and healthy. I'm not a runner like Wendy or my husband, but I've been athletic and strong most of my life and I want to keep my body in good shape. I've been a slacker...lots of good excuses like busy life, demanding job etc. etc., but no longer. I want to live long and live well. The goal is 4 out of 5 days during the week I hit the gym and at least one day on the weekend I get physical...tennis, riding my bike, walking the park...whatever. I can do this! Thanks for the inspiration, Wendy! You can read more about Wendy on her blog. Just click the picture on my sidebar to check her out. Want to join us?

Isn't That Crafty of Me

I signed up for the bookmark swap at IbbyBee. I thought it would be a fun way to use scraps and maybe try a few new techniques. Here are the three I created for my partner. The first is made from selvages. I'm so hooked. I'm never throwing away another selvage! The second is made with a vintage linen that has the tiniest crosstitch work and the back is a vintage sheet. The third is some Katie Jump Rope fabric and I made a pocket to fit this cool antique table knife that I found this weekend at one of my fav vintage stores in KC, Good JuJu. The knife is flat as a pancake and has an interesting pattern on the handle. I pieced the back with some more Katie Jump Rope and some Amy Butler dots. I used Peltex to make it stiffer to hold the knife. I have to find a vintage book to include in my package and I'm still working on that. Not sure what I was thinking signing up for swaps in August...it's a crazy busy month. I hope my partner likes what I've made for her. It was fun lurking on her blog and snooping.

I've been struggling with my machine over the last couple of days. It started skipping stitches. Spent a couple of hours last night taking it apart, cleaning, putting back together, changing needles, fussing with the tension. I've never had a bit of trouble with it before. So far so good. I can't live without it...I'm talking nicer to her these days...maybe that will keep her happy!

Bug Jars for Aryn

Bug Jars for Aryn
Originally uploaded by Jacquie G

These are two blocks that will be part of Aryn's quilt that Alison is making at Quilts for Comfort. There are still more blocks that need to be donated. You can go here to volunteer to make a block or two and read Aryn's story.

Vintage Sheets Anyone?

There's another vintage sheet swap happening here if you're interested. It's limited to 30 folks, so head on over and sign up.

Come Sail Away

Come sail away with me because we are going to have the hippest boat in the marina. One down, a bunch to go. Warm breeze, cool water, and and a hip cabin. Anyone up for a sail?